South Africans Abroad: Pienaar's Everton ousted by inspired Norwich

By Daniel Eslick

Steven Pienaar and Kagisho Dikgacoi were both left disappointed following their side's poor results this weekend, as Serero and Ngcongca also tasted defeat on the European stage

ENGLAND

Steven Pienaar played 86 minutes during Everton's shock 2-1 loss against a resurgent Norwich side at Carrow Road. The midfielder struggled to impose himself on the game and would have been disappointed about the result, as Everton's UEFA Champions League dream took a wrong turn, slipping six points behind 4th placed Tottenham and five points behind Arsenal, who lie 5th.

Davide Somma is yet to return from an injury lay-off as his Leeds United side secured a 2-0 win over Blackpool and a vital 0-0 draw against Blackburn, moving them above Rovers into 9th and six points behind 6th placed Brighton and Hove Albion and the promotion playoffs. Kagisho Dikgacoi’s Crystal Palace was able to secure a vital 2-1 win over Bristol City during midweek, but would have been dismayed by their 1-0 loss against Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday, which sees the Eagles lie four points off the automatic promotion place in the Championship. Dikgacoi played the full nintey minutes during both results as he continues to be a vital first team player for Ian Holloway's side.

GREECE

Bongani Khumalo made a brief second half performance during PAOK's dominant 3-1 win over Kerkyra FC, when he replaced Abdoul Camara in the 72nd minute. The Bafana Bafana captain has yet to make the starting XI since returning from the Africa Cup of Nations and will hope to regain his spot when his side meet Levadiakos in the quarter-finals of the Greek Cup on Thursday.

NETHERLANDS

Thulani Serero also tasted Europa League disappointment after Ajax lost 2-0 against Steaua Bucharest at the Arena Nationala during Thursday night's European action. Serero came on for Viktor Fischer in the second half of the game, but failed to turnaround the result as Ajax face an uphill battle to qualify for the next round of the competition.

Serero was a substitute once again on Sunday as Ajax's poor week only got worse despite a late goal from Schone which secured a 1-1 draw against ADO Den Haag in the Eredivisie. Ajax still sit merely two points below PSG in second, as the Eredivisie title race hots up.

Darren Keet could not stop Mons from securing a 1-0 win over Kortjik on Saturday, which continued his team's inconsistent from this season. Kortjik sit in 9th position in the Belgian Pro League as Mons overtook them following the close victory.

BELGIUM

Anele Ngcongca played the full ninety minutes during Genk's disappointing home loss against Stuttgart in the UEFA Europa League on Thursday. Goals from Boka and Gentner secured a vital 2-0 away win for the German outfit, as Ngcongca's team will have to turn around the deficit when they travel to Germany.

This was not all the action for the Bafana Bafana right-back this week, as he managed to turnout for a further 90 minutes against Standard Liege on Sunday, during a dreary 0-0 draw against the side one place below third-placed Genk on the Belgian PRO League standings.